According to a post on the official Lane Bryant company blog, an ad promoting the company's plus-sized lingerie received backlash from both ABC and Fox networks, who both refused to air the commercial without significant cuts. The ad, which is titled "Cacique" and had been intended to run during both Dancing With the Stars and American Idol, features a full-figured model sporting the company's new "Cacique Intimates" line of undergarments while getting ready for a lunch date.

The Lane Bryant blog post pointed out that the ad, though sexy, was no more offensive than other material that airs on both networks during the same time period, including Victoria's Secret and Playtex ads, as well as provocative TV programming such as The Simpsons.http://insidecurve.lanebryant.com/buzz/the-lingerie-commercial-fox-and-abc-did-not-want-i/

After the company refused to cut significant portions of the ad, Fox relented and agreed to air the spot during the final 10 minutes of American Idol.http://insidecurve.lanebryant.com/buzz/the-lingerie-commercial-fox-and-abc-did-not-want-i/ Lane Bryant argues that the networks are attempting to "define beauty" for viewers by discriminating against their advertising while allowing other envelope-pushing material to get on the air without being censored. They have posted the ad in its entirety both to their official site and to YouTube.http://insidecurve.lanebryant.com/buzz/the-lingerie-commercial-fox-and-abc-did-not-want-i/

ABC has since denied the allegations, saying they treated the Lane Bryant ad in the same way they would treat one from Victoria's Secret or any other company. They claim that Lane Bryant has used this as an opportunity to seek publicity, rather than out of any sort of genuine grievance.http://jezebel.com/5521971/blame-cleavage-why-networks-rejected-plus+size-lingerie-ad

A parody version of the Lane Bryant ad was produced by the YouTube channel HardToLiveOnline. The new version, though nearly identical to the original ad, changes the text message that the model receives. In the original, the message sets up a lunch date with a man named "Dan." In the new version, the message excitedly declares that the popular McDonald's "limited time only" sandwich, the McRib, is once again available (probably to poke fun at the full-figured model starring in the commercial.)

On an April 22 news report about the Lane Bryant controversy, the Headline News channel (owned by CNN) accidentally used clips from the "McRib" version of the ad rather than the original.

Clothing company Lane Bryant caters specifically to "plus-sized" women, a term typically used to mean clothes in sizes 14 and up. The company was founded in the early 1900s to sell maternity clothes designed by Lena Himmelstein Bryant Malsin.

Since 1999, the retail brand Lane Bryant has been owned by Charming Shoppes, which has focused largely on expanding the number of chain outlets while also increasing online sales. The clothes can also be ordered via catalog. In 2004, the company did $903.6 million in sales.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Lane-Bryant-Inc-Company-History.html

The "Cacique Intimates" line is available in sizes 12-32, with bras running from sizes 36-48 in cups from B-H. Many of the styles are designed to be worn with body-shaping undergarments from the Spanx brand.